The beer bike is a glorious invention, one that brings together two things that many craft beer geeks love; cold brews and pedal-powered vehicles. The only way this thing could be any better is if it helped you grow a brewer’s beard as well. That would be the beer geek hat trick!

Anatomy of a Beer Bike (In German, which makes it more authentic!)

The design is pretty slick. 10 to 16 folks sit on stools that ring the outside of the vehicle. Each stool has a set of pedals on it, and each rider helps to pedal the big bike along while enjoying some crisp pilsners or refreshing lagers. There’s a driver on board (who doesn’t drink) and a bartender, who keeps the riders lubricated with libations as they do their thing.

In most cases, the behemoth bike restricted to the bike lanes where it’s not interfering with other people who are actually trying to have a productive day.

According to Monsters & Critics, this phenomenon got started in Cologne, Germany about five years ago and has spread like wildfire across Germany and into Holland.

There have been some bumps in the road though. Beer Bikes have been formally banned in Düsseldorf, where they were declared a traffic nuisance, and there are movements afoot in other cities to kick them to the curb.

To me they look like poetry in motion. As long as folks don’t overdo it (which isn’t something we can take for granted here) I could see these being an awesome addition to places like Denver’s 16th Street Mall. Can you imagine doing this during GABF? Awesome!:

Hello,
My name is Grant Barnes and I’m responding to Will’s comment about our Denver business. I am half owner of Pedal Hopper Denver and found your spot on beer bikes (or Fiets Cafe’s as their called in the Nederlands, where they originated). We’ve only been in business here for a few weeks, but are getting a fantastic response! If you would like to learn more about us, please feel free to contact me or check out our website at http://www.pedalhopper.com . We currently have one bike in Denver and plan to add a second in the near future. We think that there is a great place for us in this market! Should I be able to help answer any questions about our business, please let me know.
Jim & Don, if you do another spot on beer cycles we’d love to participate!
Thanks!!
Grant

Don,
We are expecting that to be a busy weekend for us, with all of the beer lovers rolling into town. We plan to add another route in N. Lodo (Just a few blocks from GABF) called the “Brewery Express” that might be right up your alley. We also have great routes in a couple of historic neighborhoods and bar districts just off the skirt of downtown. Keep in touch with us as you plan your trip to Denver and we’ll be glad to get you guys on the bike!
Granthttp://www.pedalhopper.com

I saw this a couple of years ago and had the same idea as you Jim, total GABF fun! There are a couple of Denver brew pub excursions for out of towners that this would work for as well. And with all of those people pedaling you wouldn’t have to worry about getting out of breath from the altitude!

Don,
We’d love to have you! We’re pretty open on bookings for that weekend and hope to do some fun things with the beer lovers that will be rolling into town for GABF. We’re looking to add a “brewery express” route in N. Lodo in addition to our historic neighborhood and bar district routes that are on the skirt of downtown Denver.
Keep in touch as the time nears, we’d love to have you on the bike!
Cheers!
Granthttp://www.pedalhopper.com
p.s. sorry if I’ve posted twice, my first response didn’t seem to go through.